Why translating ancient languages is hard | Irving Finkel and Lex Fridman

Quick Overview

Translating ancient languages like Akkadian is inherently difficult because there is no perfect one-to-one word correspondence between languages, meaning words often carry multiple meanings or require contextual inference, which is why monumental works like The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (CAD) are essential for deciphering cuneiform texts.

Key Points: The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (CAD) is a 21-volume comprehensive reference for the Akkadian language, published between 1956 and 2010 by the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute. Translating ancient languages is hard because a single word in the source language rarely has a single, exact equivalent in the target language (like English); instead, one word might require translating into ten different English words based on context. The guest suggests that when translating ancient texts, one must often infer meaning based on context, especially when dealing with modal verbs, as the nuance is not directly preserved in translation. The process of translation is described as part archaeology, part detective work, and part poetry, emphasizing the interpretive and creative effort required. The Babylonian language dictionary, which preceded the CAD, was only A-Z, whereas the CAD covers the entire range of the language, making it more thorough. The speaker notes that while the CAD is the most salient and important work from American Assyriology, many documents are damaged, requiring translators to use contextual guesswork. The speaker praises the quality of translation work done by the Assyriologists who collaborated on the CAD over several decades.

Context: This segment features an interview between Lex Fridman and Irving Finkel, a renowned Assyriologist, focusing on the complexities of translating ancient languages, specifically Akkadian, which is written in cuneiform script. Finkel emphasizes that translation is not a simple substitution of words but a deep, multidisciplinary exercise involving historical context, linguistic nuance, and sometimes guesswork due to damaged source material.